BY DIMAS SANFIORENZO • MARCH 1 2019

Okayplayer is premiering “Soldiers,” the first single from J. Period‘s The RISE UP Project. The song features dead prez, Sa-Roc, and Maimouna Youssef.
“We’re marching in Compton. We’re marching in Oakland. We’re marching in Ferguson. We’re marching in Flint.”

On Friday (March 1s) DJ, producer, and longtime Okayplayer fam J. Period released his new single “Soldiers.” We are proud to premiere the song, which features legendary duo dead prez, sharpshooting MC Sa-Roc, and singer Maimouna Youssef.

There’s a special meaning behind the song. The song samples The Isley Brothers iconic track “Ohio,” which fuses with a cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Machine Gun.” The Isley Brothers made the track after a string of violent acts against activists occurred in 1970. National Guardsmen shot and killed four Kent State students who were protesting the Vietnam War. Just days later, two Jackson State students, who were also protesters, were killed by Mississippi police.

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